The Rebirth
by Xvern
Summary: When a US Army soldier logs into Elder Tales after the expansion, he finds himself within the game's world. The problems he face in this new world are numerous, the first being that "He" has become a "She".
1. Reborn

I gazed at the setting sun, watching with hood shrouded eyes as the ball of fire descend behind the mountain range. As it did, the sky caught aflame; red and orange dancing across the sky. I looked down, noting for what felt like the thousandth time that my breasts blocked my feet from sight. Still, I could see the sickly green smoke that circled around them.

All around me, it hugged the ground, coercing the empty bones beneath the dirt to rise once more. I gazed at the tome held open in my left hand, the characters within glowing the same sickly green as the smoke. _A Grimoire. My Grimoire. Used to raise the dead, regardless of the time they've rested or of their past lives._

"Spiritless below me," I began with a voice that felt foreign to my ears. As I spoke, I held my hand out in front of me, palm toward the sky, "**ARISE!** Take form once more!"

As I finished speaking, a skeletal hand pushed out of the dirt. As the screaming of the approaching mobs reached my perch on the hill, more skinless hands joined the first. One after another, they breached the soil, gripping the dirt so as to pull what followed above ground.

I lowered my hand as a skull followed the first hand. This was followed by the spine, clavicle, ribs and arms, until, finally, the entirety of the skeleton was above ground. With it, it had carried up a rusted and chipped sword and buckler. Other skeletons joined the first, bringing up weapons and armor that had been chipped and cracked in battles long past and rusted by their time below the earth.

As the number of arisen skeletons reached the twenties, and continued growing, I slowly raised my hand toward the advancing goblin horde. As I did, the characters in the Grimoire ceased to glow. Instead, the pages began to flip wildly, as if taken by a strong wind. After a couple seconds, the pages began to slow. The last page turned painfully slow, revealing two blank pages...

...stained with blood.

"Advance and feast upon the living!" I shouted, my hand outstretched toward the mobs.

As the first skeleton began it's charge, I found myself thinking of the past. Of when I had first came here. Not to this valley, but to this world. When I had first awoken to this world of stats and skills. When I had awoken to this new body with it's strange abilities.

* * *

Work had ended a couple minutes ago. My Sergeant had dismissed me, reminding me to stay by my phone in case of any changes to tomorrow's work call. I remember that, that was a range day where we had qualified on our M16 rifles. Because of that, I had all of my range gear in an Assault Pack, minus my vest, that I had tossed in the back seat of my car.

The drive to the barracks had been as uneventful as it always was. Pulling into the parking lot, I had turned off the car and heaved a sigh. Stepping out of the car, I donned my cap before grabbing my vest and pack. After a second of thought, I had put on the vest on, my lazy attitude keeping me from wanting to carry it.

Walking inside, removing my cap when I crossed the threshold, I went straight to my room and had barely dumped my bag and vest before sitting at my computer. After unlocking it and clicking the Elder Tales icon, I had stripped off my top and tossed it aside.

Having looked at my carbon covered hands, I remember I stood and went to the sink to wash them. As I washed them, I had looked at my face with tired, hazel eyes. My brown hair was close-cut, well within regulations for males such as myself. Noticing that my glasses were slightly crooked, I quickly fixed them before drying my hands and moving back to my room where a login screen awaited me.

After sitting back down, I had typed in my username: "AridSandstorm". I had then carefully typed in my password.

The character screen came up next. I only had two characters. One was a Lvl. 73 male Guardian named: "AridSandstorm". The second was a Lvl. 32 female Summoner named: "Wilted_Rose".

_I guess I should level up Rose,_ I remember thinking as I clicked on her data plate and moved the mouse to the 'Enter Game' button.

The sound of that click is the last thing I remember of that old world.

_**A/N: **_Just a short little prologue introducing my new story. Will continue when time allows.


	2. A Different Reality

I opened my eyes to see a world, back lit by the rising sun, that had been forgotten by time. Sand covered the streets, cracked by the ravages of erosion. Dunes formed where the sand piled against crumbling buildings, some reaching up to the second floors. Dunes blocked roads, hints of fallen structure visible where the sand did not cover. Vehicles, which once populated the roadways, were now nothing more than rusted husks, many accompanied by dunes of the ever present grains of earth. Windows, their panes long since smashing against the ground far below, whistled in the breeze.

Yet, amidst the desolation, life persisted. Stalls lined the roads, their accompanying merchants attempting to sell their wares. People, dressed in clothes that looked to be a mix of Medieval Europe and Traditional Islamic styles, roamed the streets, moving from stall to stall. As I looked at them in confusion, I couldn't help but be aware that more than a few were also looking at me. I couldn't stop staring; it was all so surreal! I felt like I should recognize this place, not as a desolate wasteland, but as a city, with a name. I felt that the people now looking at me in confusion, as well as the couple I could see looking around in wonder like me, should provoke titles, names, and feelings to my mind.

My mind was shot, however. Even as one of the strangely dressed residents approached me, not a single neuron fired a coherent thought. All I did was take in their appearance: a woman, wearing a dress of blue and tan. A tan cloth, trimmed with blue, covered her face, leaving only her eyes exposed. Her eyes showed worry and... confusion.

"Miss Adventurer? Are you alright?" she asked quietly, as if afraid of me. My ears had twitched at the sound of her voice and it was this involuntary muscle reflex that seemed to have been the signal for my neurons to begin firing all at once.

_My ears shouldn't be there, _was the first thought to make it to the forefront of my mind. Slowly, I reached my left hand up to where my ears should be. Instead of ears, my fingers brushed hair. _Hair?_

It was here, that my brain decided to register that something was partially blocking the vision in my left eye. Moving my hand, I grabbed at the obstruction to realize that it's hair... _my_ hair.

_I got a haircut two days ago, it can't be this long,_ I thought as I pulled the hair away to examine it, _and there's no way I'd dye it red!_

With panic rising, I reached both hands to where I felt the muscles flex. There, I brushed against an ear that did not belong on the human form. It was triangular, and extended up to a point, covered in fur. As I touched the top of one, my muscles reflexively acted and caused the ear to flick in annoyance.

"Miss?" the woman asked again, causing me to freeze in place as I looked back. Though I had thought she may be speaking to someone behind me, I knew within my mind that those eyes were fixed squarely on mine. As well, there was no doubting the word that had left her covered mouth. I began to feel uncomfortable in my skin and, as this sensation, passed through my body, I began to notice that things were... different.

With my hands still on my ears, I slowly looked down. I didn't even look down fully before I saw them, two lumps on my chest that _should not_ be there. My recently rebooted brain crashed once more as my panic levels escalated at an alarming pace.

"Uh..." I muttered smartly, only to have another earth-shattering revelation slammed on my overclocked mind. Though my appearance was assuredly female, my voice was still indisputably male. This combination made the woman's eyes widen as she took a step back in shock. As she did this, I clamped my hands over my mouth, my own eyes probably wider than hers.

Without saying anything else, I took off at a sprint down the road. Avoiding the strangely dressed people, I turned the corner and immediately ducked into a ruined building. A couple dozen steps away from the front doors and windows, I stopped. Slowly, my hands dropped from my mouth to be held in front of me, my eyes examining their delicate features.

"The hell happened to me," I muttered, the familiarity of my own voice seemed to calm me a little bit, "Where am I?"

I thought back to when I opened my eyes in this strange place. The amount of sand suggested I was in a desert somewhere, while the ruined buildings informed me that some catastrophic event had taken place. The clothes the woman wore were-

_Wait. What did she ask me again?_ I thought. As I did, I found myself scratching my head. Then it hit me, _She addressed me as "Miss Adventurer". Adventurer? Where have I heard that before?_

As I looked around in thought, I spotted a mirror on one of the walls. It was covered in dust, but had otherwise miraculously survived whatever had destroyed the rest of the city. Walking over to it, I used my hand to wipe away most of the dust. As I did, my reflection came into focus piece by piece.

Red ears, like those of a fox, rose from my head, the red fur darkening so that the tip of the ears were black. Red hair was pulled into a ponytail that went down the bottom of my neck while my bangs were cut and swept to cover my left eye. My eyes, these were an ice blue that seemed wholly out of place behind the red hair, were set in a soft, heart-shaped face that was left makeup free.

My top was colored a dark black and served to only cover my chest, upper back, and arms. A slight turn revealed a hood sewn to the back of my top. Further down, a long, black skirt, stopping at my ankles, covered my legs. Well, it tried to, as it was open on the left side, exposing that leg but allowing more freedom of movement. Black shoes, akin to boots, covered my feet.

What really drew my attention, however, was the thin chain wrapped around my waist... and the tome connected to it.

It hung on my right side. There was no title, nor any picture on it's cover. The edge of the pages looked frayed and torn in some places. A thin leather strap connected the back cover to the front on the opposite side of the book's spine, a simple clasp helping to keep the tome closed.

I looked away from the tome, focusing again on the face reflected in the mirror. There was no doubt in my mind that the face that stared back at me belonged to Wilted_Rose, my Elder Tale character. Her species, her hair style, her face, I remember selecting all of it. I also remember the two coinciding quests that had given me this outfit or the "hidden" dungeon with the boss that had dropped the tome chained to my waist.

_Which means that either I have entered the game, or I am having one hell of a dream,_ I though, not believing the second half of that statement. It was all too real, after all. The warmth of the sun outside, the feeling of the dust I wiped from the mirror, the weight of the tome on my waist. It all felt too _real_ to be a dream.

This left only the first option to be viable. Somehow, I had entered the world of Elder Tales and had taken over Wilted_Rose's body, yet keeping my old voice. I watched Rose's, no, _my_ fist clench at the thought.

_This is my new reality, _I thought with finality, _but what happened to me back home? Frozen at my computer? Dead? How will my family handle that? My parents... my little brother..._

With a guttural yell, I felt my fist slam into the mirror, cracking the reflective glass. As my eyes were squinted in rage, a black screen with green trim appeared in front of me. It's appearance was so startling, that I had yelped and stepped back, my fists raised for a fight. It took me a couple seconds to realize what I was looking at.

_The menu screen? _I realized, lowering my fists. In front of me was the hexagonal shape of the menu screen. An open book within the hexagon symbolized my class of Summoner. Around the octagon were the navigational buttons: Items, Quests, Skills, Friends, Options, and Logout. To the right of the hexagon, and a little above, was the player data card.

_Name: Wilted_Rose_

_Gender: Female_

_Species: Fox Tail_

_Class: Summoner_

_Level: 32_

_Guild: None_

Finished reading, I looked at the Logout button. Though I could guess what would happen, a little spark of hope made me reach out to the button. Red drew my eyes to my hand, the same that had punched the mirror. I could see blood seeping from the many cuts I had received from the glass. _So we can bleed here, _was my only thought as I finished reaching for the button. A tap, a click of a key, and a red circle with a diagonal line through it appeared. It pulsed three times as a negative audio played, then it disappeared.

My bleeding hand dropped as I let out a sigh. I closed my eyes, heard the menu close, and reopened them to see the shattered mirror before me. The cracks spread through the glass didn't stop it from trying to reflect my image. What resulted was a broken mosaic of blacks and reds, mixed with the tan of sun-baked skin. Yet, even in this broken mosaic, I could see those blue eyes, _my_ blue eyes, staring back at me.

Slowly, deliberately, I reached up and back with both hands. Grabbing my hood, I pulled it up and over my head, my ears slipping through holes in the fabric. With the baggy hood covered everything except for my mouth and ears, I turned to the building's entrance. A group of children stood at one of the broken floor-to-ceiling windows, staring at me. Status bars sprouted over their heads as I looked at them, identifying them as People of the Land. _The NPCs, _I noted. I also noted how they looked at me: curiosity mixed with fear. Realizing that I was looking at them, they ran off, their fight or flight instinct telling them that flight is the better option.

As I approached the window the kids vacated, I thought back to the woman in the street. There was no doubt in my mind that she was also a Person of the Land, a NPC. However, my mind told me that she was no mere NPC. NPCs don't start dialogue in towns, nor are they able to read facial expressions.

_This game is my reality,_ I thought as I stepped out of the window and looked up and down the street. With the city having always been rarely visited by Adventurers, I saw nothing but People of the Land navigating the roads. They went from store to store or strode confidently on by. Many gave me a glance as they passed, filled with different emotions. To my left, I saw the group of kids from earlier hiding behind a woman whose hair was hidden underneath a shawl. Their little mouths moved quickly as they pointed over at where I stood. Seeing my gaze, the woman hurried to push their hands down and smile apologetically at me before ushering them away.

_...And the game has changed._

_**A/N: That's chapter two. Not too much longer than the prologue but hopefully long enough to satisfy y'all. As I have a four day weekend ahead of me (which was a hairsbreadth from being taken away... stupid Army), I may be able to get one more out before I go back to work.**_

_**Happy Adventuring Everyone!**_


	3. Telepathic Contact

_The game has changed._

That thought bounced around in my mind as I walked aimlessly down the street. I remembered that the developers of Elder Tales had announced a new expansion. As I was, admittedly, a more casual player, I hadn't been keeping up with the expansion's details or release date.

_However, this... Incident occurring due to the release of the expansion is something I can't just brush aside. I need to find another Adventurer, someone who was tracking the release date._

I looked up to see that I had wandered into the Old City's plaza. Now, it was a large marketplace for the People of the Land inhabiting the ruins. I remembered that, in my world, the city was named Albequerque in the state of New Mexico. However, I found that I couldn't remember the name that the People of the Land had given it. _I'll just check the zone card, _I decided, opening up my menu. The Zone Card was a data screen displaying the name of the current zone, combat allowance, monsters present, and so forth. It was located to the left of, and a little below, the hexagonal main menu.

_**Orilla**_

_North American Server_

_Dominion / Orilla_

_City / No Monsters_

_No PvP_

_Entry Restrictions / None_

_Exit Restrictions / None_

"Orilla," I whispered, unfamiliar muscles undoubtedly butchering the correct pronunciation. It was assuredly a spanish word, the meaning of which unknown to me. Of course, such names were bound to be common in this region, as they were in the real world.

_How long will it take, _I began to think as the menu closed, revealing the marketplace once more, _'til I have trouble discerning this world from my own?_

As yet another thought was released to bounce around my skull, I fully took in the marketplace. While there was a decent collection of shops set up in the old plaza, the focal point here was not the merchants' wares. Instead, it was the small ziggurat centered in the plaza with the strange, circular gate built atop it. In the game, it would it occasionally crackle with arcane energies, the same energies that caused it to give a low, pleasant hum.

Now it stood silent, with naught a spark left to power it. A good sized congregation of People of the Land stood at the bottom of the steps leading to the gate. Even from where I stood at the edge of the market, I could see them scratching their heads in confusion.

Beyond the gate, on the other side of the plaza, stood a building that was unlike the rest. The first being that this building was made of clay, with a similarly constructed wall surrounding it. The three-story building was pockmarked with windows, their panes reflecting the harsh sunlight. I recognized it as Orilla's Guild Hall, having been there many times to drop off items in the bank when this was still a game.

Looking back at the non-functioning gate, I stepped into the throng of stalls. I needed to find another player and hope that they had a better grasp on the reason for this Incident. As the People of the Land were gathered around the gate, there was bound to be a handful of players also gathered. Whether they were there because they were confused by the gate's non-functional state or also seeking answers was a different question.

As I walked past the many stalls, the merchants' within called out their wares. Swords, food, clothes, potions, furniture, books; all sorts of items were sold in the market for all sorts of prices. As the myriad of merchants continued to hark their wares, I found that when compared to the plaza when this was a game, this one was much livelier and far more crowded. The plaza wasn't big to begin with, and the ziggurat didn't help matters, but add in a bustling a market, the merchants, the goods, and the customers and you were left with very little room to walk.

It was all I could do to keep from bumping into people. The shadows told me that it was sometime midday, which explained why the market would be busy. Whether here or back in the real world, one would do well to avoid large, or popular, places of commerce at midday. That was when the majority of people ventured from their homes to purchase goods.

Of course, I also had another problem to be aware of... my tail. I had discovered it only after it began to swing of it's own accord while walking down the street. I remembered seeing a group of kids laughing together as they played. Their happiness was infectious, causing me to smile. That happiness, however, also caused a spasm of muscles that shouldn't have existed. A quick glance back and I saw two red tails wit black tips swishing back and forth. A little bit of mental effort had gotten the tails to stop and a little more had made them disappear. At the time, I had opted to have only one tail showing, to further complete my 'Fox Tail' image.

As it knocked yet another item from someone's arms, I was now regretted leaving it showing. Still, this was my new body, and I didn't want to continue hiding my tails forever. Besides the MP boost, why else would someone choose Fox Tail as their race?

With that in mind, I put my concentration to keeping my tail tucked down, as if in a submissive posture. Doing this kept it from knocking items to the ground, and from me having to deal with the repercussions of such, but it did feel a bit embarrassing. After all, I was a Summoner with the ability to raise the dead and here I was with my tail tucked against my legs. I dealt with the feeling, though, as it was not something recognized by the People of the Land around me.

Finally, I had reached the ziggurat in the middle of the plaza. The People of the Land had began to go back to their daily duties when I did. This let me see the handful of people in armor and cloaks gathered by the ziggurat's steps. The instant I had laid eyes on them, I knew that none of them would offer any more knowledge than what I already knew. Most were sitting on the ground or on the bottom steps, their eyes focused on the ground below them. Some conversed in scared whispers amongst themselves while some still just glared silently at the People of the Land around them.

"Are you stupid? I said, get me the GM! I want to know what the hell is going on!"

I looked towards the irate voice to see a man, dressed in plate armor with a sword on his hip, waving his arms about frantically. On the receiving end of his misplaced anger was a NPC merchant who was trying his best to placate the Adventurer.

"Please, I don't know what a 'GM' is. I just sell fruit," he tried to explain, his hands held up with his palms out. I could see the Adventurer grow more and more upset as the merchant spoke. Sensing a confrontation, I moved myself closer to the stand.

"Worthless NPC!" the Adventurer shouted as he grabbed his sword, "Why don't I- huh?"

When the Adventurer had tried to draw his sword, I closed the distance to stand between him and the stand. The momentary confusion quickly faded back to anger.

"Get out of my way! Or do you want me to-" he drew his sword and, as he did, a magic circle opened in the sky above us, accompanied by the hum of released arcane magic. A great suit of armor, trimmed with blue lights and wielding a massive hammer, descended from the circle. The sudden appearance of this new NPC caused the Adventurer to drop his sword in surprise. As the dropped sword clattered on the concrete, the NPC receded back into the magic circle, which closed behind it. With the humming ceased and the sword resting on the ground, the entire Plaza was silent from the occurrence.

As the People of the Land slowly returned to their tasks, a whisper sprang up from the Adventurers assembled at the bottom of the ziggurat.

"Was that the Royal Guard?"

"Holy shit, that was pretty cool."

"Does this mean that this is still like the game?"

"He almost got wasted."

The Adventurer in front of me stared fearfully at his sword. Leaning forward I whispered,

"Pick it up slowly. Show no hostile intent and sheathe it quickly."

If he was shocked at my voice, he didn't show it. Instead, with sweat forming, he nodded and slowly knelt down. With painful slowness, he reached out to his sword's handle. Then, as if grabbing a snake, he snatched it and closed his eyes. When nothing happened, the Adventurer slammed the blade back into the sheathe as he stood up.

"I-I just want to know what happened," he explained apologetically, now much more civil with the idea of violence being so shockingly denied.

"Trust me. I'm sure we all do," I replied. I saw his eyes widen as he looked at me, leaving me to assume that he realized that my voice and body don't match.

"You're a guy?" he whispered in disbelief.

I shrugged, "This is my alternate character."

"Oh," he breathed, "So that's who you got stuck with."

"Yep."

At this moment, a voice piped up behind me, "Um, excuse me?"

I turned around to see the merchant looking at me expectantly. When I didn't do anything, he scratched the back of his head.

"Thank you for helping. I don't really have anything to give as reward, though, I'm sorry. Still, I am most grateful," he stated, as if expecting me to lash out like the guy before.

Knowing that he would probably not understand a male voice leaving a female body as easily as the Adventurer did, I merely nodded my head as I turned back to the Adventurer.

"The game has changed," I whispered, "peacefully talk to them and you may see what I mean."

With that little bit of cryptic advice, I patted the guy on his armored shoulder before moving back into the crowd.

_That was a bust, _I thought as I navigated the throng of people, _next place to check would be the Guild Hall. If nothing comes up there... I'll figure out what to do next. Maybe see if my skills work. Maybe... maybe I'll go outside the walls._

As I was thinking that, my menu suddenly opened on it's own, a small screen becoming the forefront. An older sounding ring tone sounded in my head as it did. In the top right of the small screen, an old dial phone was shown with the handset bouncing of the hook. In the screen was a small sprite of a man wearing spiked armor. Said sprite was holding it's stomach while laughing mirthfully. Text was situated to the left of the sprite.

_Moarbeer_

_No Guild Affiliation_

_Guardian / Lvl 71_

At the bottom of the screen were two buttons: _Answer_ and _Ignore_.

_A phone call? _I thought as I quickly made my way to the edge of the market, the phone sounding loudly in my head as I did. Finally, I made it to the edge and ducked into an abandoned building before hitting _Answer_.

"_Hello? Is that you man?" _questioned the person on the other line.

_Telepathy, _I thought, _like voice chat in the game_.

"Yeah," I replied, "I-"

I didn't get to finish as laughing overtook the line. It was loud and boisterous and I could imagine tears beginning to fall from his eyes.

"Fuck you Clark," I muttered.

"_S-sorry,"_ he stuttered through laughter, _"I just can't believe you're stuck in Rose's body!"_

Laughter once again filled the line, leaving me to simply sigh in irritation.

"_D-did you already get na-"_

"Clark!" I shouted, my cheeks heating involuntarily at the thought.

"_Ow! Shit, you do know it's telepathy right? That really hurt,"_ he complained.

"I'm glad it did because if _someone_ had told me they were getting on tonight, I would've been in Sand's body instead!" I shouted.

"_Okay, okay, I get it. Now chill and grab a seat because I got news for you."_

"What?" I growled.

"_Sandstorm is in the game as well."_

"W-what?" I breathed, my mind ceasing all function once more.

"_Yeah man, I'm here with him right now. You wouldn't believe how confused he is about all this. Funny thing is-"_

"Is he still in LA?" I interrupted, using the real-world name for the city.

"_Yeah, where we logged out last. Why? You're not thinking of coming here are you?"_

I didn't answer.

"_Dude,"_ he began, _"don't be stupid. We don't know what death means here. We could die for good and Rose isn't a high level."_

"Or we could respawn in the Cathedrals," I rebuked.

"_Or that, but you would still have died for no reason. Listen, I'll take Sand and we'll work our way to you. We're high enough levels to make it safely however-"_

"It'll still take months for you to get here," I finished. Elder Tales used a system called the Half Gaia Project. This system accurately replicated Earth, but at half the size. The distance between Albequerque and Los Angeles was maybe 800 miles. With the Half Gaia Project, the distance between Orilla and LA's Elder Tale equivalent was roughly 400 miles. The real world distance would take 12 hours by car. However, Elder Tale did not have cars. It also had a wide assortment of monsters roaming the wilderness outside the cities. As such, the trip in Elder Tale, though a significantly shorter distance, would still take months to complete.

"_Yeah,"_ he replied.

I took a second to think about it. Clark, a fellow soldier in my platoon, was also online as his character 'Moarbeer'. He was also with my main character AridSandstorm in the ruins of LA on the west coast. Between him and me was dangerous amount wilderness and neither of us knew what would happen when we died. He could die and that'd be it, no more Clark.

I sighed, "Stay in LA. There's no reason to risk it."

"_But don't you have, like, no friends with that character?"_ he asked. There was no arguing this truth. Because this was my alternate I hadn't seen the need to add people to my friend's list. Clark was really the only one worth mentioning on there and that was because it let him contact me in game when he was on so that I could switch to AridSandstorm and play with him.

"While that is true, I'll make do," I replied, "but, hey, the game has changed."

"_What'ya mean?"_

"Besides the obvious?"

"_Duh."_

"Look around at the People of the Land," I began, "There seems to be a lot more of them right?"

"_Yeah, I guess there is,"_ he replied, thoughtfulness entering his tone.

"Now, when we hang up, go and talk to one of them. About their family or their ambitions. Something that a normal NPC wouldn't have an answer."

"_Alright,"_ he replied, understanding already in his voice, _"I will."_

"Good. I've got to go and see what information I can dig up about this Incident. We'll talk later," I said, getting ready to hit the _End Call_ button.

"_Okay," _a pause, _"Stay safe man."_

"Yeah, you too," I replied before hitting _End Call_. When the screens disappeared, I sighed.

_This is just getting more confusing. Why are we here? Why is Sand here as well? Is he like the People of the Land now? What is, or isn't, like the game I once knew?_

_I still have a lot to learn._

With that thought, I stepped outside and continued to the Guild Hall. I still sought information, afterall. Information on whether the expansion release correlates with us coming here. _I also want to see if anyone's been outside the walls yet._

_**A/N: Here ya have it. Chapter 2 out the same weekend as Chapter 1, as promised.**_

_**I hope you're all enjoying it. If you see anything wrong (whether it be a canon error or grammar mistake) don't be afraid to point it out.**_


	4. Good Food

It wasn't long before I found myself at one of the four arched entrances in the wall that surrounded the Guild Hall. There was a two yard buffer between the wall and the building itself. This buffer was paved with clay bricks and decorated with potted desert plants such as cacti and yucca plants. The doors into the Hall, of which there was also four, were made of heavy wood.

Pushing one of the two doors open, I stepped inside and let it swing closed behind me. The inside of the Hall was as plain as the outside. Wooden planks comprised the flooring while circular wooden tables, with accompanying chairs, dotted the room. Benches, flanked by more potted desert plants, lined the walls. In the center of this large main room was a circular kiosk with People of the Land behind the counter. Though I couldn't see it, I knew that a circular staircase was situated in the center of the kiosk to allow access to the vaults below. Circular staircases were also situated in each corner to allow players access to the upper levels, which held the actual halls.

Usually, there would only be a handful of Adventurers in the main room at a time. Now, however, it appeared that any Adventurer that was not sulking at the foot of the ziggurat, was causing a ruckus in this main room. In the cramped room, Adventurers cried and begged to be saved. Adventurers shouted angrily at the Lander bankers and each other. Adventurers pushed for recruits for their guild, stationed locally or otherwise.

All of these Adventurers filled the Hall, lost and confused. Had this been carefully executed, this would have been a perfect psychological experiment. However, this was not a controlled experiment. This was simply madness, people thrown into a stressful situation who are falling back on what they believe is the right course of action. Of course, none of these courses sought to answer any questions. These courses sought normalcy.

_And there's little normalcy to be found here, _I thought as I walked deeper into the room. I could feel eyes on me, but ignored them. Finding an empty seat, I made a beeline for it. Luckily, I got there before anyone took it. With the other occupants of the table, all of them male, watching me, I sat down. After a couple adjustments for comfort and modesty, I looked at the men around me.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up," I stated, my mouth twisting into an amused smirk at their surprise and sudden lack of interest. With that announcement, I lowered my hood with one hand before crossing my arms atop the table.

"Ya look like ya have something to say," stated a heavily accented voice.

"I do have something to ask," I began, looking at the speaker, who sat across from me. He was big. A white, sleeveless longcoat with blue trim leaving bulging muscles left to air. Weapons, closely resembling the Power Fists from the Fallout games, covered his fists. Brown hair sat unkempt atop his head, while stubble took over his lower face. His HP bar identified him as 'WallBreaker'.

I continued speaking after a half-second pause, "Do any of you know when the expansion was slated to be released?"

"Today," came a quick reply from the person seated to my immediate left. He was dressed in a hooded, red robe with an orange sash tied around his waist. An orb topped staff was leaned against his shoulder, the inside of the orb looking to be an eternal firestorm. Dirty blonde hair was combed neatly to one side while brown eyes were locked onto the table in front of him. He was identified as 'Pyro194'.

"Why do you ask?" asked another person, dressed as a blacksmith with a glove-type weapon and short, black hair. His hazel eyes, covered with silver-rimmed glasses, were locked on me in confusion as his HP bar stated his name to be 'Forge_Hammer'.

I shrugged, "Just that it seems odd that on the day the new expansion is slotted to be released, we end up in the Elder Tales world, as our characters no less."

"So it's a conspiracy between the government and Atharva, right?" WallBreaker asked sarcastically, a roll of the eyes accompanying his tone.

"That would be absurd Mr. Breaker," I reply with a chuckle.

"Then what are you getting at, _Miss Rose_?" Pyro asked, stressing my title and name. _An attempt to embarrass me?_ I thought. Even though I knew what he was trying to do, I couldn't help but shift a little in the seat. Still, I pressed on.

"What I'm 'getting at', Mr. _Pyro_, is that we know the game has changed, obvious by our arrival into the game. However, the expansion could have changed it even more. New monsters, dungeons, bosses... quests, who knows what. However, those core mechanics aren't the only things that changed," I explain.

"So, what you're saying," began another of the table's occupants. This one wore a mix of fur and leather, bones and feathers acting as accessories. A gnarled staff was resting on the table in front of him. His HP bar identified him as 'Caretaker', "is that, besides our arrival and the obvious changes an expansion would bring, there's other changes."

"Exactly," I replied with a nod and a smile. I then raised a hand to point at the kiosk, "the Landers aren't mere NPCs anymore, for example."

"The hell you mean by that?" Forge_Hammer asked.

I shrugged, "Just that. Have you talked to one?"

"No," he replied, "Why would I?"

I ignored his question as I turned to the others, "Have any of you?"

"I have," WallBreaker stated, shrugging, "What of it?"

"Didn't they seem a bit..." I paused as I searched for the proper word, "livelier?"

I watched the gear's in Breaker's head begin to turn. There was confusion etched on his face for a second before his eyes widened a margin.

"Now ya mention it," he said, the nonchalance of his voice failing to leave, even at this revelation, "and this means?"

"It means that they're human now, like us," I explained with a smirk, "They think, feel, talk, and react just as we do. Not only that but, as I'm sure you noticed, there are more of them now than when this was _just_ a game."

"So you're saying..." began Pyro, waving a hand for me to continue.

I sighed, "The Landers gaining sentience can't be the only change. Has anyone here ventured outside the walls?"

"Fuck no," Forge replied, "I don't want to die."

"Stagnation is death," I retorted.

Pyro snorted, "Philosophical bullshit isn't going to make me step into the ruins. I'd rather stagnate and die of old age than die from being torn to ribbons."

I held up my hands in a placating manner, "Fair enough but we need to learn more of this world at some point."

"I don't like the way your talking," Breaker stated, finally showing emotion in the form of irritation entering his voice, "Like we're gonna be here awhile."

"It's best to prepare for the worst scenario before hoping for the best."

"And how do we do that?" Caretaker questioned, crossing his arms.

I leaned back in my chair with a smirk, the tip of my tail flicking back and forth in the excitement. Before I could speak however, there was a loud cry of shock and despair from one of the other tables.

"The hell is this? It tastes like shit!"

I looked over in curiosity, wondering what the player could have eaten to have that reaction. Lucky for me, the man in question was only a couple tables away. It was easy to tell who had yelled, as he was the one standing in front of a plate of what looked to be salad. Bits of partially chewed greenery were scattered on the tabletop, leaving me to assume that he had spit it out upon revelation of the taste.

"Dude, what the fuck?" loudly questioned one of the table's other occupants as he used part of his outfit to wipe small chunks of greenery from the sword he had laid on the table.

"This salad tastes like dog shit, man!" the first man shouted again. A close bystander reached past him with a "let me try" and plucked a leaf from the bowl. He then bit into it and immediately gagged. After painfully swallowing the bite, he tossed the rest of the leaf back to the bowl.

"Tastes like shit," he concluded, almost comically.

With this second opinion, however, a handful of people sparked into action, accessing their screens. All across the hall, various dishes began to appear on tables. Everything ranging from soups and sandwiches to steaks and skewers. Almost as quickly as each dish appeared on a table, someone would take a bite of it, only to discover that it tasted just like the salad had. Profanities, mixed with gagging, began to fill the Hall. This chaotic bout of taste testing also led to the discovery that, no matter the drink, it all tasted like water.

"Another of your changes?" Breaker asked calmly, as if the chaos around him was nothing but a buzzing fly.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the chaos around me, "I'd assume so."

Still smiling in amusement, I opened my menu and clicked on 'Items'. A small list popped up, listing off the item names with an accompanying picture next to it. Since I didn't have Geriok's Magic Bag, the list was small so it didn't take me long to find the only food I had. Clicking it, I watched as a half dozen oranges materialized in front of me, the oranges having been a reward from an irritatingly easy quest. Curious, I grabbed one of the oranges and began to peel it, Rose's nails assisting greatly.

"Surely you're joking," Pyro stated in disgust, "I'm pretty sure we know what it'll taste like."

I shrugged as I continued peeling, "I'd like to know of the taste myself. Curiosity killed the cat and all that."

"Yeah, well 'Curiosity' better not spit orange chunks all over the place," Forge warned, nonetheless watching on with interest.

"Please, it undoubtedly tastes better than a MRE."

"You're military back in the old world?" Caretaker asked.

At this point, I had finished peeling the orange. Laying the skin on thee table, I peeled off one of the slices. Giving a simple "Yep" as Caretaker's answer, I bit off half the slice. With perception leading me to believe that it'd taste horrible, I was surprised to get an explosion of citrus. So surprised, in fact, that my ears stood straight, my eyes widened, and my tail flicked about even faster. Without a second thought, I tossed the rest of the slice into my mouth and chewed.

"So... better than a MRE?" Pyro asked, unsure about my reaction.

Swallowing the last bit in my mouth, I looked at the peeled orange in my hand for a second before tossing it at Pyro. Clumsily catching the partial orb, he looked at me with a raised brow. Smiling, and aware that a drop of juice had made it's way to my chin, I waved at him to try it.

With a sigh, and a shrug, he peeled off one of the slices and plopped the entire slice into his mouth. As he bit down, he immediately closed his eyes and hummed in pleasure. He chewed quickly and swallowed quicker. Opening his eyes, he looked at us with a wide smile.

"Tastes like an orange fresh from picking," he stated happily.

"But-" Caretaker began before a flying, partially eaten orange interrupted him. He looked at in for a second in confusion before looking up to see both Pyro and myself motioning for him to try. Slowly, as if it would bit him, he peeled a slice and brought it to his lips. Taking a small bite, he chewed twice before immediately taking a bigger bite.

"Holy shit," he muttered, shoving the rest of the slice into his mouth.

"Give me that," Forge said as he snatched the rest from Caretaker's hand. And so the orange traveled around the table until no more remained, leaving the all with ecstatic smiles. As this occurred, prying bystanders had pulled out their own fruit. Some pulled out vegetables. Others pulled out salt to put on the dishes still sitting on the many tables. The discovery was that all of these still tasted as they were supposed to. Apples like apples, pears like pears, salt like salt, so on and so forth.

Laughter came from a nearby table, drawing my attention.

"Oh my god, this is going to be great!" exclaimed one of the people there. From what little I could see, one of the players at the table had a couple cubes of raw meat in front of him. Using a dagger as a makeshift fork, he skewered one of the cubes and tentatively brought the still bleeding morsel to his mouth.

"Dude, that's gross," muttered another of the table's occupants, chuckling nonetheless at the sweating guy. Slowly, the adventurer beat into the raw meat and chewed. Blood ran down his chin and it wasn't long before he had spit it back onto the table, much to the amusement of his friends and the disgust of a female player at the table.

"Well?" one of them asked. It was at this moment that I realized that the area around the table in question had grown silent, everyone waiting for his answer.

"It tasted like raw meat," he said with a smile full of blood-stained teeth.

"Now it's my turn, I guess," the female player stated, her voice actually matching her body. Standing, I could see a whip coiled at her hip, giving away her class of Summoner. With flying fingers, she accessed her menu. It wasn't long before there was a rainbow of light atop the table. When the light faded, a small Salamander summon was standing there with it's usual bored appearance. It then turned and looked up at it's master.

"Okay, um," the girl began nervously, "heat your back?"

The crowd gathered around the table chuckled, causing the girl to flush red with embarrassment. Those chuckles soon died down when the small spikes on the back of the Salamander began to glow red with heat.

"Yay! It worked!" the girl cheered, clapping. Now, it seemed as if the entire Hall was tuned into the happenings of this one table. I found myself standing and moving closer for a better look. Around me, others did the same, a crowd soon forming around the table. The girl noticed and grew shy while the other occupants seemed fueled by the attention.

"And now," loudly began the one with bloodied teeth as he stabbed another cube, "the grand experiment!"

Slowly, he moved the cube toward one of the heated spikes. The girl talked softly to the Salamander, trying to calm the already calm beast. _She's trying to calm her excitement at all this,_ I thought, realizing that my tail was still flicking back and forth excitedly. Everyone in the room held their breath as the cube got close to the spikes. Then, with a poof, it turned into a strange, slithery purple goo.

"Fuck!" screamed the player, a Wolf Fang, who had been holding the dagger. A collective groan swept across the room. Just before everyone dispersed, however, a player in plate armor started pushing through the crowd.

"Wait, wait, let me try," he called, a skewer held above his tall chef's hat. With his glasses sliding down his nose and pointy Elven ears, he looked utterly ridiculous. Players chuckled at his appearance, myself being one of them, but a path was made.

Looking to my left, I saw that WallBreaker stood beside me, his arms crossed and a frown on his face. However, I could see a spark of hope in his calculating eyes. _He's smarter than he appears,_ I realized as I looked back at the table as the chef hat wearing Guardian reached the table.

"What's your subclass?" he asked the Wolf Fang.

"Mechanic," he replied with a shrug, "I'm guessing yours is chef?"

"What gave it away?" asked the Elf with a smirk. The Wolf Fang just chuckled before motioning to the table.

"Stage's all yours," he said as he scooted back to give the man some real estate closer to the table.

The Elf didn't reply as he stabbed his skewer into one of the cubes of meat. Again, the room held it's breath as the meat drew closer to the confused summon. Sweat formed on the Elf's brow as his tongue left his mouth in concentration. Slowly, the skewered meat moved closer until, finally, it was right above one of the spikes. To everyone's surprise, it didn't immediately turn to goop as it had before. Instead, we all heard...

"Sizzling?" I asked before a familiar smell filled my nostrils.

"It's cooking!" someone shouted in excitement. Some cheers went up but those easily excited few soon quieted when they noticed the narrowed eyes around them.

"Doesn't mean anything yet," Breaker muttered, to which I nodded.

"It could still taste like shit, afterall," I added. By now, sweat was dripping from the chef's face as he rotated the meat. The side that had been facing the heat was a nice brown, the cube form allowed me to see that it was cooked a perfect light brown to the center.

What felt like hours of silence passed before the Elven chef lifted the meat from the heat. Both sides were a nice dark brown while the inside was a perfect light brown. No seasonings or char lines marred the surface of the cube. If it tasted like anything, it was bound to taste plain and boring. _Plain and boring is still better than dog shit, _I thought.

"Here, try it," the Elf said to the Wolf Fang, holding the skewer out to him.

"Huh?" he asked in confusion, "Why me?"

_Because you're an honest third party, _I thought.

"Just take it," the Elf said.

"Fine, fine, sheesh," was the response as he grabbed the skewer's handle and held it in front of him. He looked at the meat with worry. I knew what he was thinking, that it would taste like shit, but we needed to know.

"Eat it, you fucking baby," came a voice from the crowd.

"Yeah, eat it!" came another.

It wasn't long before the crowd began chanting,

"Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!"

I, however, stayed silent. A quick look around revealed others watching in silence, one of which being the large Monk standing in the white and blue longcoat beside me.

Sweating at the pressure, the Wolf Fang took a large bite from the cube. He chewed for a couple seconds as his eyes slowly widened. He swallowed and looked around.

"Well?" asked the Elven chef, his hands wringing his poor hat.

Silently, the Wolf Fang began stood from his chair. I smiled, having a good idea at what he would say. Still, I watched as the Wolf Fang stabbed the skewer into the air like a sword.

"It tastes like meat!" he shouted, striking a heroic pose.

The room erupted into cheerful shouts. The people closest to the Elf slapped his back in congratulations as other chefs went off to test for themselves. All around the room, there was celebratory cheers. _We're cheering as if we just successfully launched a spacecraft, _I thought, smiling nonetheless. That was when a small screen popped up near the bottom of my vision. The text on it was short and to the point.

_WallBreaker wants to be your Friend._

Below it were the options_ Accept_ and _Decline_.

I looked up at the large monk in confusion to see a small smirk on his face, "As you said, the game is changing."

Smiling again, I pressed the _Accept_ button, "That it is. So, what's your plan?"

He looked up at the roof, "Discover," he then looked back at me, "We're leaving at sunrise from the east gate."

With that, the large Monk turned and began to move through the crowd. Like a rock in a river, the crowd parted easily for him, allowing him to make it quickly to one of the corner spiral staircases.

Opening my menu, I opened my Friend's List and easily found his name.

_WallBreaker  
__[Lost Legion]_

I couldn't help but chuckle at his Guild's name. _Lost Legion, huh, _I thought as I moved toward the Hall's exit. With night falling soon, I needed to get myself a room at the Inn. Sleeping outside was something I _could_ do but why would I if I didn't _have_ to? Pushing through the still excited crowd, I got to the door and stepped outside. Just as I had thought, the sun was nearing the horizon as a cool evening breeze blew through.

As I stepped through the gate and back into the marketplace, now almost empty of people, I couldn't help but smile at the sound of muffled cheers still coming from the Guild Hall.

_One step at a time, _I thought, _we'll discover this world's secrets._

_**A/N: Xvern here. I actually didn't think I'd get this chapter out this weekend. However, with a sudden flash of inspiration, here it is. I hope you all enjoyed my take on the whole "Food needs to be cooked by a chef by hand" aspect of Log Horizon.**_

_**Also, I'd like to again ask that if you have any concerns with grammar or canon, please bring them up so that I can address them. I would like to say that I had changed the name of the Magic Bag since this is taking place in the North American server.**_

_**Thank you everyone for reading and please stay watchful for the next update.**_


	5. A Small Step

I opened my eyes to a curtain of red hair. What I could see beyond the strands showed a cracked wall. I sluggishly moved my hands from their spots on the bed. My right hand moved to my face to brush the hair out of my sight while my left traveled up to brush against one of my fox ears.

I sighed as I let my hands drop back to the bed. _Of course it was too much to hope that it was all a dream, _I thought before rolling onto my back and flinging the covers off. It was at this moment that I remembered that there was nothing covering my chest. I looked down at the exposed skin, feeling my cheeks flush with heat. An awkward shifting of my legs revealed that I still wore... panties.

"Gah!" I shouted as I rolled onto my stomach, shoving my face into my pillow and letting loose a shout of frustration. _I just had to get stuck in Rose's body didn't I? _I asked myself as I remembered the... trouble I had trying to get to sleep the night before. That was when I realized that Rose's outfit didn't include a bra. I had also realized that sleeping how I did in the real world, on my stomach, didn't work so well with breasts.

I shouted into my pillow again before rolling onto my left side, letting me face the rest of the room. _Her body is now my body. I have to get used to this, _I thought as I looked back at my chest, brushing back the hair that had fallen into my eyes. I felt my cheeks heat, but not as badly as when I had first awoken. Still blushing, I swung my feet out from the blankets and set them on the floor. Taking a moment to stretch, I stood and moved to the vanity mirror that stood in the corner. Next to the mirror was a simple desk and chair, my clothes folded neatly on the chair while the chained grimoire rested on the desk.

My eyes locked on the grimoire again. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was more than the accessory it claimed it to be. I felt as if there something _inside_ the book, waiting behind the locked cover. Waiting for- I shook my head, _That's absurd,_ I thought, as I looked away from the book and to the mirror.

When I looked into the mirror, the first thing I realized, besides my blushing cheeks, was that my hair was a mess. A twist to the side and the flexing of some unfamiliar muscles brought my tail into view, showing it to be just as disheveled as my hair.

"Jeez, I look like shit," I mumbled, chuckling as I straightened to look at myself fully. The body I saw was certainly... developed. _Chill,_ I mentally chastised myself as my cheeks began to heat more, _this is my body. I need to get used to this._

Still, I turned away from the mirror and began to get dressed. While I could have had the system do it for me, I thought that this would help me get used to the new me quicker. Even so, I got dressed quickly, struggling only briefly on the skirt. Wrapping the chained grimoire around my waist, I secured it by looping one end of the chain through the loop on the other end multiple times, effectively tying a knot, before letting the couple inches of excess hang next to my left leg.

Looking back at the mirror, I glanced at my hair before looking at the black ribbon held in my hand. I sighed, _This is gonna be difficult._

* * *

After a great and horrific battle filled with curses, my hair was up in the same style as it was yesterday. With my left eye covered by my bangs, I had looked out the window to see that the black sky was turning purple. Having let loose a curse, I had torn from the Inn room as if my tail was alight. Sprinting down the early morning streets of Orilla, I couldn't help but notice two things. One, a Fox Tail sprinting down the streets earns a lot of confused looks from the Landers. Two, I wasn't tiring near as much as I should have been. _Maybe my skills and level have to do with that, _I thought as I twisted around a pair of Landers who had suddenly appeared from side street, _Interesting._

With the surprised Landers left in my dust, I turned a corner to see the gate a block away with a handful of people standing around it. As I ran up, I took stock of them all. In the center, taller than the others and with weapon covered hands on his hips like a disappointed father, was WallBreaker in the same white and blue sleeveless longcoat as yesterday. Now I saw that he also wore black pants and blue boots. To Breaker's left was the Medicine Man, Caretaker. Like Breaker, he wore the same fur and leather as yesterday, even his accessories were in the same place. He held his gnarled staff in his left hand. To Breaker's right was Pyro, still in the orange and red robes with his staff in his left hand as well. The blacksmith, Forge, stood behind and between Pyro and Breaker, his back turned to look at the gate.

Behind and between Caretaker and Breaker was one player that I hadn't seen yet. He wore a full set of plate mail, minus the helmet. His hair was styled into a bright green mohawk that went up about an inch. This hairstyle revealed the dog-like ears of the Wolf Fangs, his being brown in color. As I got closer, I saw that his eyes were a dark brown and that his face was covered in red paint, making it look like blood smears. His armor was similarly decorated in red paint as a white cloth, torn and frayed, covered the upper potions of the front and side of his thigh, as well as a part of his rear. A large warhammer rested on the ground in front of him. His HP bar identified as "Pac-Man".

_Wasn't expecting that,_ I thought after reading his name. I had been expecting Beserker or Destroyer. _Whatever,_ I thought again, sliding to a stop in front of the five.

"I'm here!" I shout. Breaker narrowed his eyes at me.

"Don't look at me like that man. You have any idea how much work it is to get this body ready for the day?" I asked, causing Pac and Pyro to snicker. Caretaker just pointed at something right behind me.

"And we see that you weren't able to finish," he mentioned with a smirk. I looked back to see that my tail still had a bad case of bed hair.

"Damn it," I cursed, looking back at Breaker as I brought my tail around and began to run my fingers through it, "My point exactly. Fucking tail."

By now, Pyro and Pac were doubled over laughing while Care was chuckling. Forge was still focused on the gate, but I could see his shoulders moving up and down as he laughed under his breath. Even Breaker cracked a small smile at my irritation.

"Fuck all y'all," I cursed again as I continued running my fingers through my tail, straightening the hair.

"Hey, we weren't the ones who decided to play as a female," he breathed, struggling to talk through his laughter. I glared at him, otherwise remaining silent, as I let go of my tail, letting it swing back behind me. Instead, I just crossed my arms.

It was a couple moments later that Pyro and Pac stood upright, their outright laughter turning into chuckles as both of them wiped tears from their eyes.

"Ah, I needed that," Pac muttered, as he held up an armored fist near me, "You're alright man."

I couldn't help but smile as I fist bumped the Guardian, "So are y'all," I replied with a chuckle. As I pulled back from the fist bump, I pulled up my hood with my other hand, my ears again slipping through the holes cut in the fabric, "Now let's go kill something."

Pac smiled wide, showing his mouth full of canine teeth. With the fake blood smeared on his face, he looked crazed. _A look he was probably shooting for,_ I thought.

"Now you're speaking my language," he said with that crazed smile as he hefted the Warhammer onto his shoulder.

"Hang on," Breaker barked, causing Pac to look at him in obvious confusion, his manic smile disappearing from his face. WallBreaker, I realized, was looking straight at me.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You don't have a weapon," he stated simply.

"Huh?" Pac questioned, "But he has a grimoire on his waist right there."

"Actually," I began with a smirk, "the grimoire is just an accessory I got from a special dungeon. All it does is slow my cast and cooldown time in regards to summoning of the dead. Nothing more."

"Oh," Pac breathed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You need a weapon," Breaker stated.

I looked up at him as my ears twitched in irritation. Likewise, I gave my head a slight, confused tilt.

"My summons are my weapons," I replied, "At my level, I can summon five of them."

"You're not going without a weapon."

I straightened my head and gave my tail a few irritated flicks. I narrowed my own eyes and crossed my arms, "Then I'll just venture out on my own."

"Just get a weapon, for fuck's sake," Pyro chimed in. I turned my glare to him and watched in mild satisfaction as he flinched back.

"I am a summoner," I asserted, "I have full faith in my summons."

I turned my glare back to WallBreaker, "I'm walking out of that gate, one way or another."

The following stare down had allowed the sun to raise considerably into the sky. A gathering of Landers, with a few Adventurers mixed in, had also formed around us.

"Boss," Forge began hesitantly, having finally turned away from the gate to notice the crowd.

WallBreaker finally broke eye contact to look at the gathered crowd with a glare that could melt titanium. Under such a gaze, more than a few broke from the crowd.

"Fine," he spoke with finality as he turned and strode for the gate.

I couldn't hide the smirk on my face as I uncrossed my arms and followed after him, passing by the other four of our party. The looks of wonder and confusion on their faces caused me to chuckle. This must have broke whatever trance they were in as I heard their footsteps behind me. In actuality, I mainly heard the clanking steps of Pac with his armor.

"Spear formation," Breaker ordered as we stepped through the gate. As we did, a small screen appeared at the top left of my vision.

_**Forgotten Streets**_

_North America Server_

_Dominion / Northern Frontier_

_Field / Monsters Present_

_Entry Restrictions / None_

_Events / None Currently_

I watched as my acquaintances began to arrange themselves into a formation. WallBreaker moved to the right while Forge went to the left, on line with Breaker and with about eight metes spacing between the two. Pac moved in between them before moving forward another three meters, making him the point of the spear. Pyro stood behind Pac, maybe a meter back from the line between Breaker and Forge whereas Caretaker stood another four meters behind Pyro.

"Where do you want me?" I asked, having already slid my way into the space between Pyro and Caretaker. I saw WallBreaker glance back before nodding and looking back ahead, scanning the front right.

"There's fine," he stated simply.

I nodded back as I checked my surroundings. We were currently crossing a bridge that went over an old railyard. Said bridge was crumbling in some area but otherwise looked sturdy enough for the safe passage of six Adventurers. Like Orilla, everything here had a fine buildup of sand. As well, anything metal was so rusted that I could probably kick them apart.

"Hey, I can't use my Mini-Map," Forge announced, his finger poking at air as he manipulated his screens.

"Same here," Pyro stated in front of me.

"Looks like maps aren't allowed outside the city," I deduced.

"Eyes it is than," Pac added from the front.

"Hmmm," I hummed as I opened my menu.

"What is it?" Care asked from behind me. I turned to see him scanning he environment with frightened eyes.

"Relax Care. Even here, the mobs are gonna be a pretty low level, maybe two or three below mine," I explained, "And since I'm the lowest level here, it should be pretty easy."

That was true. I was only a Lvl. 32. Caretaker was the next lowest at Lvl. 47 with WallBreaker being the highest at 83. Pac was 78, Forge was 61, and Pyro was 59. No creature in the direct vicinity of Orilla should last more than four seconds against a group like that. However, with this being real life, that could very well not be the case.

"Says you. Walking through dangerous territory is probably just another day for you," he replied. I assumed he was speaking of my being military in the real world.

"Please," I began, looking forward as I navigated through the different screens of my interface. _Using skills in combat with this is going to be tough,_ I thought with a brief frown. I then turned back to Care with a smile, "I was an Apache tech. All I did was work on wires and boxes."

He didn't reply but I could tell that he was bit more calm. Though, he still glanced at his surroundings with apprehension. I looked ahead again. _Can't be helped, I guess. In fact, I- there it is!_ I mentally interrupted myself as I found the ability I was looking for. Clicking it, I watched as a rainbow light appeared beside me as I walked. Not breaking pace, I turned my head to watch as the light faded away to reveal a Carbuncle summon. The small creature, a cross between a dog and cat, wasted no time in catching up to me and assuming a pace to match mine. The red jewel on it's head glowed in the sunlight.

"A Carbuncle?" Pyro asked, looking back at me, "But I thought you were a Necromancer build?"

"I am," I replied, as I stooped down and scooped the creature into my arms, not breaking stride. It began to purr like a cat as it rubbed it's head into my chest, "But who could resist this adorableness?"

I may have imagined it, but I could have sworn that Pyro sweatdropped at that, "Are you sure you're a guy?"

"Yes," I stated, "I am very sure that I am a heterosexual male."

Pyro shrugged, "Alright, so what do you plan on doing with it? Just pet it?"

I looked around, noticing that we were nearing the end of the bridge. Ahead of us were numerous one to two story houses. They stretched on for miles, the road grid running through them choked with small dunes, husks of cars, and rubble from any collapsed buildings.

"Recon," I replied, looking down at the Carbuncle. I found it looking up at me with a tilted head. Even with my hood covering my eyes, it seemed to know where to look to stare straight into them, "Ah, do you like that name?"

As if in response, it began to rub it's head against my chest again. I chuckled, "Recon it is than."

"This is too weird," I heard Pyro mutter, looking ahead as he shook his head.

"Alright, Recon, I'm gonna borrow you okay?" I explained as I hovered my finger over another button. The Carbuncle gave a bark, as if in reply. I gave a small smile before clicking on the skill button. As my finger retracted from the depressed button, the world began to compress and twist.

I closed my eyes as I felt a piece of myself break off and latch to my body. The rest of... me, began to flow out. The feeling was hard to describe, but it felt as if I was having an out of body experience, feeling there and not at the same time. Then, suddenly, it stopped.

I opened my eyes...

...to see my hooded face and a single, dull blue eye.

_**A/N: Well, I'm gonna go ahead and end this one here. As I wrote this chapter, I found myself going back and tweaking a lot of things. This has a little to do with the late update: not knowing how to continue properly and all. As well, I honestly didn't know how to write the feeling of going through a Soul Possession, so I kinda winged it.**_

_**Anyway, I hope you guys our enjoying this adventure in the Land of Wen as much as I enjoy writing it. Hopefully I can get to the first battle in the next chapter, for all of you bloodthirsty readers out there.**_

_**That's all I have to say for this one. Read on everyone!**_


	6. Green Smoke

_Whoa, that's creepy, _I thought, staring at the blue eye. The other was obscured by both red hair and the shadow of the hood.

"Did you just use Soul Possession?" Care asked.

Using the Carbuncle's claws, I climbed up my still moving body so that I could look over my shoulder at Caretaker. When I could see him, I nodded, the Carbuncle's head moving up and down.

"Wow," Care breathed. With a push, I launched myself to the ground and matched pace with the group. _I already know how to walk and move, _I thought, hopping a couple times, _this is cool!_

"Having fun there?" I heard Pyro ask, drawing my attention to his amused smirk.

Again, I nodded the Carbuncle's head before sprinting ahead. I passed by Pyro only to have a foot block my continued advance. I slowed down to match pace with the foot's owner as I looked up and up and up. From the viewpoint of the Carbuncle, WallBreaker looked like a literal Giant.

"Stay in earshot," he ordered.

I nodded the Carbuncle's head before darting past him. Sprinting ahead of the group, I weaved under and over rubble and debris, making sure to scan the environment as I moved. It wasn't long before I realized how eerily quiet the ruins were. _I expected to meet a monster by now__, _I thought, as I trotted into an intersection.

That was when a howl pierced the silence, close enough to rattle my eardrums and causing me to drop low to the ground. I scanned my surroundings, confused. There was nothing but rubble and dirt. _Wait, there!_

I had spotted something darting behind a pile of rubble. The crunch of glass had me whirling left just in time to see a segmented, barbed tail disappear behind the husk of a car. Then, a constant beat invaded the sensitive ears of my Carbuncle.

_Footsteps!_

I jumped back. Air blasted against me as whatever had been charging me zoomed by. Noticing that it missed, it slid to a stop, spinning to face me. My eyes, narrowed from the close call, saw the furred canine lock it's eyes on me. The segmented tail of a Scorpion, arched over it's back, twitched in what I could only guess was a sign of irritation.

_Scoryotes, _I thought, recognizing this particular mob. It was a blend of Coyotes and Scorpions, implementing the abilities and skills of both. With still narrowed eyes, a health bar on a red template appeared over it's head.

_Scoryote/ Lvl. 31  
__Regular_

It charged again and, again, I dodged it with a last minute jump to the side. This time, however, I turned to the road I had come from and sprinted. With my small size to my advantage, I dove underneath some rubble just as the _clack!_ of closing jaws sounded behind me. I was quickly met with a dead end, forcing me to face my growling pursuers in time to see a barbed tail try to breach the hole.

_Fuck, _I thought, _I need to return to my body. But how?_

The Scoryotes continued to assault my haven, using claws and tails to remove rubble and widen the gap. If I didn't return to my body soon and alert the others, Recon would be torn to shreds with me still in possession. I dreaded discovering what would happen in that instance.

_What was it called?! _I mentally screamed as a muzzle full of dirty, bloodied teeth appeared at the gap, the Scoryote biting and growling before withdrawing his head.

_That's right! It was-_

_**Soul Release!**_

I closed my eyes as once again, I felt my... _self_ begin to drain out. This time, however, no part latched onto the body. Instead, I could feel another presence moving in to take over the empty space.

_Recon's soul? _I wondered briefly as I felt myself float away, akin to a leaf caught in a breeze. The breeze changed and tossed me into a pot, one which I filled like water. I could feel the piece I left behind rejoin the whole.

I opened my eyes to see the rest of the small group moving as before. You couldn't even hear the sound of the confrontation happening further ahead.

"Tch," I clicked my tongue in annoyance before sprinting forward, quickly passing a startled Pyro.

"Rose!" he shouted.

"No time! Recon is out there with a pack of Scoryotes!" I shouted back as I ran past Wall, narrowly avoiding a swipe of his arm that I was sure had been to stop me. As I did, I had a revelation.

_When I released Recon, I didn't use a command window._

"**_Summon Skeleton!_**" I shouted, as a green haze formed at the edge of my eyes. Looking down, I realized that my left hand was open as if I was holding a large bowl and now sported a sickly green glow. My attention was drawn, just as I passed Pac, to about five meters ahead. There, a skeletal hand had breached the earth as smoke, the same sickly green as the glow on my hand and the haze in my eyes, whirled around the breach. With quickness, the hand was joined by another before both hands pushed on the earth to reveal a full skeleton, armed and armored, the smoke still swirling at it's feet.

The effect it had was so... startling that I had almost slid to a stop. Instead, I had slowed a margin at seeing this monster raise to the surface. A howl in the distance refocused my attention and allowed me to regain my previous speed.

"Follow!" I shouted at the skeleton as I overtook it. A quick glance over my shoulder showed it following me as I ordered. Looking back ahead, I shouted the skill once more. Again, my hand opened, the muscles locking as another hand breached the earth. As before, I ordered this one to follow, which it did without question.

I was sweating when I crested the small dirt and rubble hill that separated me from the intersection that Recon was attacked. What I saw were a pack of four Scoryotes around the rubble that I had hidden Recon. One was digging furiously while the other three paced, anxious for their meal.

_Sorry to disappoint, _I thought furiously as I raised my still glowing hand at the Scoryote digging at the rubble.

"_**Graveyard Walk!**_" I shouted, my skirt flapping in the wind created by the skeletons charging past me.

Even through the ever present green haze, I could tell that my two skeletons were outmatched. I needed more, and I needed them fast. I had the MP, and ability, to get two more but the casting and cooldown would take too long. By the time both of those two entered the fight, the first two would be slain.

That was when I noticed that the one digging had already lost an eighth of it's health.

_Recon was fighting back,_ I thought with smirk, _He wishes to live and I need to grant that wish._

"_**Skeleton Summon!**_" I shouted with resolve. As soon as the body was halfway out of the dirt, I rushed down the hill myself.

"Rose!" I heard someone call, but I paid it no heed. With the newly summoned skeleton, I charged the pack, reaching them just as the first Scoryote was slain. As the body dispersed into the sky as bubbles, the loot dropped to the ground. Amongst the coins and potions, I saw a glint of steel. I couldn't keep back a smile as I slid for the sword, the ground scraping my unprotected legs. My smile quickly vanished, as I saw a Scoryote rearing it's tail to stab at me.

Gripping the hilt of the sword, I brought it to bear just in time to knock away the stinger. Jumping to my feet, I slashed at the mob and cut into it's flesh. It yelped in pain, blood seeping from the wound. I slashed again but it jumped back to avoid it. Stepping forward with my left, I extended my left arm out, with my palm facing the mob.

"_**Deadly Swarm!**_" I shouted. My palm glowed that ever present sickly green before locusts began to pour from the glow. Thousands of them came forth to swarm the Scoryote and begin to drain it's HP. The effect, however, was also visible as new wounds opened all across the mob's body. Blood began to run down in rivers, staining the ground below. The mob howled in pain as it tried to stab and bite the locusts swarming it.

A small pain in the back of my skull drew my attention left in time to see one of my skeletons freeze and turn to dust that fell to the earth. The small gaps between the grains of dust showed a bloodied Scoryote snarling. When the dust had fully landed upon the earth did the Scoryote leap at me.

I had just raised the sword in my right hand with a steel fist smashed into the mob's torso with the sickening crunch of bones breaking. The hit caused the mob to go soaring into a rusted streetlamp. The streetlamp, though worn by time, stood strong... the mob didn't. At the instant the mob's body smashed into the streetlamp, it gave one loud yelp before bursting into bubbles that then floated into the sky. Like the one my skeleton had killed, loot dropped to the ground.

I looked back at WallBreaker, my bloodied sword held loosely at my side. I could briefly hear loot dropping to the ground behind me before buzzing filled my ears. I glanced down to see that the locust swarm were swirling about my legs, mixing in with a sickly green smoke that seemed to emanating from the tome chained to my waist. I briefly thought of how I should get rid of the swarm before the locusts collectively... died, their corpses falling to the earth before turning to dust just as the skeleton had. My hand ceased it's glow as the green haze in my vision receded. The smoke also ceased as I glanced around to see that my other skeletons had already fallen back to the earth.

A furry pressure on my calf brought my gaze back to my legs to see a certain Carbuncle rubbing against my left leg. I smiled at the creature before someone cleared their throat, causing me to look forward again.

There stood the other members of my group. Care and Pyro looked utterly horrified while Forge simply adjusted his glasses and Pac gave me a thumbs-up and a toothy grin. Wall, however, held a look that was equal parts surprise and disappointment.

"Rose," he said, before pausing, as if not knowing where to begin.

I tossed the bloodied sword aside before lowering my hood, briefly baffled as to how it stayed up, and looked him in the eye, "I disobeyed an order and broke formation before charging into battle with an unlevel head. I apologize."

"You apologize?" he asked in disbelief.

I simply nodded. Needless to say, I didn't see the fist coming.

_**A/N: Hey guys, sorry that this chapter took as long as it did. I hope you liked the combat scene. Even though it wasn't long, I hope it gave a better insight into Rose's thoughts (or lack thereof). I also hope that you enjoyed my portrayal of the Necromantic summons.**_

_**Anyway, thank you to everyone who's reviewed thus far. I'll try to not take so long on the next chapter so please bear with me.**_


	7. Splitting Up

I opened my eyes to a sight that, had my head not been pounding from the hit it took, I would have found humorous. From where I was slumped against a rusted husk of a car, I saw Recon, the brave little Carbuncle, barking at Wall as he stood between the monk and myself. Wall, though looking like a giant compared to Recon, looked perplexed by the creature's actions. Behind Wall, the others of the group looked on in surprise.

I glanced at my status window, noticing that, that one punch had drained much of my remaining HP. The fact that I wasn't dead was either a miracle or a sign that Wall had pulled his punch at the last second. I wasn't sure which idea I believed.

"Recon," I called, a cough erupting from my lungs, bringing some blood with it. The Carbuncle was quick to turn and run to my side, it's tail wagging excitedly. As it rubbed against my side, I scratched behind it's ear. As I did, my hand gave a slight glow, "_**Dismiss**_."

As if recognizing the command, the Carbuncle looked at my face. Giving it a smile, I watched as it disappeared in a flurry of color. When the color faded, my hand was hovering over empty air. Heaving a sigh, I pushed and pulled myself to my feet, using the car for assistance. Once on my feet, I began to dust off my clothes, noting the slightly darker spots that indicated blood.

A vial was shoved into my field of view. It was entirely made of glass, including the stopper, and contained a red liquid that any player of Elder Tales would recognize. _A HP potion,_ I thought, as I looked at the vial and the weaponized hand that held it. Grabbing the vial's neck, I watched the hand withdraw. Unstopping the vial, I greedily chugged down it's contents, watching as my HP returned to around midway. The visual cue of the HP bar refilling was minor, however, compared to the physical cue that the potion was working properly. A warm sensation traveled first to my stomach and then, from there spread to every point of my body, providing a sensation that was pure euphoria.

"So," I began with a smile, looking at the distortion of the ground through the empty vial, "what now?"

Hearing nothing but the wind and groaning structures, I look at the group to see all but Wall looking at me in surprise. Wall, however, was looking up at the sky, obviously in thought.

"R-Rose," Pyro finally broke the silence, albeit hesitantly.

"Hmm?" I replied, looking at him with a raised brow.

"When you were... fighting. Were you using the menu?" he asked.

I put a hand to my chin as I thought back to the fight before one of my eyebrows arced high. I could also feel my tail reflexively swishing back and forth as I realized my answer. _I wasn't using the menu at all. I just saw the enemy, imagined what I wanted done, and the actions and speech just... came to me._

"No," I answered, "I wasn't."

"Then how?" Pyro asked.

"I think I can answer this one, if I may," Forge started before I could speak. I looked at him with a raised brow but motioned for him to continue. He pushed up his glasses with one finger before speaking again, "I believe that our bodies, or rather the bodies of the characters we've taken over, already know the movements required for our moves. All _we_ have to do is mentally target an opponent, or group of opponents depending on the chosen skill, and call forth the skill. When Rose was fighting, he called forth a spell and it happened."

"But what about when he was possessing the Carbuncle?" Pac questioned, scratching his head, "Carbuncles can't form words."

"That..." Forge paused as he looked over at me, "is something that he'll have to explain."

I shrugged, "I just thought of the spell's name and it happened."

"Hmm," Forge hummed in thought before giving a shrug himself, "In any case, this just proves what Rose stated at the Guild Hall yesterday. Th-"

"This isn't just a game anymore," WallBreaker stated, interrupting the scholarly blacksmith. He turned to face the group, a smirk on his face, "We're heading back to Orilla."

"What? Why?" Pac asked.

"We need to inform the other players of our findings and," Wall looked at Forge, "Forge has some experimenting to do."

I watched said blacksmith blinked in surprise, "I do?"

Wall nodded, the smirk still present, "You do."

"I, uh... alright," Forge replied, still confused, but nonetheless moved to stand beside WallBreaker.

"Man," Pac groaned, "I don't want to go back without getting to kill something."

"I, uh, want to try out combat as well," Pyro added with a hint of nervousness. As he spoke, I watched Caretaker stepped from behind the group and take a couple steps towards me.

"If I can, I'd like to try a healing spell and, well, since you're hurt," he explained, following it with a chuckle.

I found myself chuckling with him, the action causing battered muscles to ache, "Sure, just make sure it's a healing spell and not an attack spell."

"Trust me, the last thing I want to do is hurt you," he replied, the answer and it's many implied meaning caused my brow to raise but I otherwise remained silent. Now but a meter away and standing directly in front of me, the medicine man held his gnarled staff two-handed in front of him. His eyes closed in concentration, I watched him as the silence dragged on.

Finally, the tip of his staff glowed a pure white and, as the spell's name fell from his lips, the light left the staff as a white tendril.

"**Ghost Dance**," he called as the tendril wrapped around me and constricted. When it touched my skin, however, it did not tighten as I had thought. Instead, it' touch was soft and warm and, right before my eyes, the light seeped into my body and spread that warmth to thee rest of my body. It felt as if I could take on the world but, before I could act on the feeling, the warmth dispersed, taking the feeling with it.

"That was... strange," I commented, noting that my HP bar was now full. Caretaker stared at me with a large smile.

"This is so cool," he breathed, causing me to chuckle.

"You two done?"

I looked left to see that the rest of the party seemed to be waiting on Caretaker and me. Glancing movement, I peeked right to see Caretaker rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

"What's up?" I asked, focusing on WallBreaker.

"Forge and myself are heading back to Orilla to spread the news and see just how far we have been... assimilated into this world," he explained, "Pac and Pyro are planning on staying out to train and collect loot."

"That just leaves you two," Pac added, jumping in during one of Wall's pauses.

"I'll stay out," Caretaker replied. This surprised me, a fact that I'm sure my face was conveying as I looked at him, as he was the most nervous of us all when we left the city. Squirming under the scrutiny of my, and of the others I'm sure, he shrugged his shoulders, "They're gonna need a healer after all."

"Yeah! That's what's up man!" Pac shouted enthusiastically as he clapped a hand on Caretaker's shoulder and gave him a little shake. The Medicine Man smiled wide at the show of camaraderie, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

I shook my head at the scene, a smile on my face, before turning back to Wall, "I'll head back with y'all. I got some stuff I want to test as well."

With a nod from Wall, I stepped over to join Forge beside the massive Monk. Once beside him, I turned to look at the other group of three. I could hear Wall suck in some air for a long list of instructions.

"Alri-"

I interrupted him with a simple, "Stay safe out there. If y'all find yourselves in a corner, run or teleport out. We'll see you back at the Guild Hall."

Pac gave me a small salute and I got a nod of understanding from Caretaker.

"Yes mom," Pyro muttered sarcastically, causing the rest of the group, sans Wall to chuckle. I let out a chuckle with them while also shaking my head.

"Go fuck a Scoryote, Pyro."

"That's enough," Wall stated, leaving no room for argument and silencing our chuckles. I looked up at him to see him glance my way with a look that all but screamed, _'We need to talk'_, "Be back before nightfall," he told Pac before turning for the city, "Rose, Forge, let's go."

"Yes boss," I replied as I turned and followed behind him, waving goodbye to the other three as they turned to head further into the ruins. I looked forward only to see the backs of Forge and, ahead of Forge, WallBreaker. Sighing, I looked up at the blue sky and the sun that was slowly creeping across it.

_Today is gonna be a long day, _I thought, _The first of many._

_**A/N: Jesus, I am so very sorry at the atrocious amount of time it took just to get **_**this ****_out. Life has been kind of insane with moving and work and, well, this just kinda fell on the back burner. However, moving and work isn't all to blame but I can't change the past. If any of you can... don't tell anyone or you may find black helicopters landing in your yard._**

_**Crappy jokes aside, I do hope everyone has been enjoying the story so far and I also hope that everyone had an amazing Father's Day.**_


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